InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Sammy-Jo Cervantes There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Patience Watson One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

TheLittleSongbird I love Shakespeare and musicals, and I have a great respect for Kenneth Branagh. Love's Labour's Lost was not as bad as I'd heard, but I can actually understand the criticisms as while it does have its charms it is a heavily flawed film. The play is one of Shakespeare's weakest due to how overly-wordy it is, so I knew that when I heard about this film that it can go either way. I will start off by saying that Branagh does deserve credit for trying to make Shakespeare's work accessible to wider audiences, but it uncharacteristically came in mixed results here. I often praise Branagh for his respect and understanding for Shakespeare, but his other films especially Much Ado Nothing, Hamlet and Henry V did this much better. Other than the title and some of the dialogue, which is not the most poetic and witty Shakespeare has done but has evidence of both, there's not really enough that of that Shakespeare feel. That is largely because while making a noble attempt to make the play accessible Branagh oversimplifies the writing and consequently loses the story's consequently making it here thin and too much of an excuse to string song-and-dance numbers one or another.Another consequence is that as a directing job it is on the unimaginative side and feels like too much West End not enough Branagh. There are also two miscasts. Matthew Lillard is a tall, handsome and likable guy, but here he constantly sounds and looks like he's got something up his nose. Even more problematic is Alicia Silverstone, who I liked in Clueless, but I thought she was pretty awful here both as a singer-dancer and as a Shakespearean actor, she can barely sing a note without being breathy and out of tune and is often behind the beat in the singing, and in terms of acting her delivery is always forced and awkward especially in the darker shift of tone. Finally, I usually like Timothy Spall a lot but his I Get a Kick Out of You was for me an embarrassment.On the plus side, the 30s setting is evoked absolutely beautifully, and it is well filmed too. The songs from the likes of Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin are outstanding, and the dancing sequences in the film do have a lot of charm and pizazz, especially Let's Face the Music and Dance, There's No Business Like Show Business and They Can't Take That Away from Me. Even though the singing is not exactly great, it isn't entirely awful, the best voice of the entire cast easily comes from Carmen Ejogo. The characters are not that developed, due to the oversimplifications but do have a lot of easy-going charm and likability that I can't hate them. Some members of the cast, namely Branagh, Richard Briers and Geraldine McEwan do show an understanding of Shakespeare, how it should sound and feel. I did like most of the performances. Branagh is not entirely convincing age-wise but is enthusiastic at least in his role. Briers and McEwan are splendid, while Nathan Lane is hilarious. I especially loved Natascha McElhone and Adrian Lester. McElhone plays her role with such beauty and depth, and Lester is sublime in his equally sublime musical set piece.All in all, has its charms but for me it is not one Branagh's finest hours. 6/10 Bethany Cox

angelofvic This production is indeed a worthy entry into the world of Shakespeare on DVD. Right now the only significant DVD productions of Love's Labour's Lost are the BBC production from the 1980s, and this one. There is a Globe Theatre production out on DVD this year, but I know nothing about it.To get back to the two main DVD productions -- the BBC's is minimalist, due to their low budget, and wordy, rapidly spoken, and hard to understand, yet devoid of subtitles. I don't consider it perfect by any means, for those reasons. In fact, it can be quite off-putting and dull.Branagh's, on the other hand, is easily understood, has subtitles available, and is clearly spoken with modern pronunciation. Likewise, scenes that bear dwelling on and getting the most juice out of -- such as the end -- are dealt with lovingly and languidly, as they should be, whereas in the BBC version they just whiz by.The controversial things about Branagh's production are the addition of songs and the deletion of substantial portions of the text. However, I must say, that to get across the gist of the play, many of the scenes deleted by Branagh are not needed, and some of them are in fact irrelevant and irritating to a modern audience, and so justly removed.Lastly, the musical numbers, which are the most controversial: I felt that there were a few too many musical numbers, and several of them were overproduced to the extent they seemed silly and out of place. That said, I did not object in principle to the presence of the songs. I think Branagh just got carried away with the number of them and with the over-the-topness of some of them.I'll sum up as follows: If you are new to this play -- which is one of Shakespeare's wordiest and in a sense most difficult, I recommend availing yourself of BOTH the BBC version AND of this Branagh version. Having seen both, I think you will have gotten the gist and thrust and enjoyment of the play in a way that neither production would give you on its own. I think the stuffy wordiness of the BBC production needs to be balanced by this Branagh version, and the breezy modernism of the Branagh version can stand to be completed by the unabridged BBC version. Enjoy!

madbeast Kenneth Branagh attempts to turn William Shakspeare's obscure, rarely-produced comedy into a 1930s-era musical, with the result being both bad Shakespeare and bad musical comedy as the actors are rarely adept at one or the other of the two styles and in some cases flounder badly in both. Particularly painful is Nathan Lane, who seems to be under the impression that he is absolutely hysterical as Costard but is badly mistaken, and Alicia Silverstone who handles the Shakespearean language with all the authority of a teenaged Valley Girl who is reading the script aloud in her middle school English class.The musical numbers are staged with the expertise of a high school production of "Dames at Sea," leaving the cast looking awkward and amateurish while singing and dancing, with the lone exception being Adrian Lester who proves himself a splendid song and dance man. The only other saving grace of the film are Natascha McElhone and Emily Mortimer's contribution as eye candy, but they have given far better performances than in this film and you'd be wise to check out some of the other titles in their filmographies and gives this witless mess a pass.

Jackson Booth-Millard From actor/director Kenneth Branagh comes another William Shakespeare tale, just four years after his four hour version of Hamlet. The story is an update based in the 30s/40s where the King of Navarre (Jurassic Park III's Alessandro Nivola) and three companions, Longaville (a miscast Scream's Matthew Lillard), Dumaine (Adrian Lester) and Berowne (Branagh) swear an oath to stay away (and obviously not fall in love) with women for three years. Unfortunately this plan fails when they are immediately acquainted with The Princess of France (also miscast Alicia Silverstone) and her three chums, Rosaline (The Truman Show's Natascha McElhone), Maria (Carmen Ejogo) and Jacquanetta (Stefania Rocca). They form close friendships and almost bonds, and they have other people to talk to about their concerns, including an all-star cast: Emily Mortimer as Katherine, Richard Briers as Nathaniel, Nathan Lane as Costard and Timothy Spall as Don Armado. With some fantastic actors and memorable songs mixed in, this is a great almost modern adaption to a Shakespeare tale. Kenneth Branagh was number 25 on The 50 Greatest British Actors, and he was number 6 on Britain's Finest Actors. Good!